Optimal Performance at Wildfires, Off-road and in the Backcountry

Our guest in this episode is Battalion Chief Thomas Smith from CAL FIRE Nevada Yuba Placer Unit and the Placer County Fire Department. Smith started his career in 2005 as a Firefighter with the North Tahoe Fire Protection District. In 2006, he was hired with CAL FIRE NEU as a Firefighter I and promoted through the ranks of FFII and Engineer working in Battalions 12, 17, and 18 as well as the Grass Valley Air Attack Base. In 2014, Smith promoted to Fire Captain B in the Lassen-Modoc Unit and was assigned as a Fire Crew Captain running Inmate Hand Crews at both Intermountain and Antelope Camps. In 2018, he promoted to Battalion Chief in the San Benito-Monterey Unit assigned as a Field Battalion Chief in the Bear Valley Battalion. He then transferred back to the Nevada Yuba Placer Unit in his current position as a field Battalion Chief in the cooperative fire agreement with Placer County Fire. Chief Smith is a qualified Air Operations Branch Director and is currently assigned to Incident Management Team 1. He has served on numerous Regional and Statewide teaching cadres including S-212, C-234, Air Tanker Base Manager and AOBD/ASGS. Smith graduated from California State University, Chico, with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Liberal Studies and holds an Associate of Science degree from Sierra College in Fire Technology. Smith is a resident of Truckee, California, where he lives with his wife and two children.